Dorset - 90 Attractions You Must Visit
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About Dorset
Dorset is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. Here you can the beautiful beaches to famous landmarks like Durdle Door and Portland Bill, and activities including kayaking, wine tasting, and more
Types of Attractions in Dorset
Activities Around
List of Attractions in Dorset
Poole Museum
Museums
A local history museum situated on the Lower High Street in the Old Town area of Poole. It illustrates the story of the town and its people. The centrepiece of the museum is the 2,000-year-old Poole Logboat, an Iron Age vessel that was found in 1964 during dredging work in Poole Harbour. there has been an exhibition showcasing finds from the Swash Channel Wreck, one of the most important shipwrecks found in British waters and so more to see inside.
Poole Park
Parks
Poole Park is an urban park adjacent to Poole Harbour in Poole. The park was opened during the Victorian era and has remained popular with visitors ever since. It is a great venue for relaxing and playing and covers an area of more than 100 acres, 60 acres of which - unusually for an urban space - comprise freshwater and brackish lakes.
Portland Bill Lighthouse
Lighthouses
Portland Bill Lighthouse is located on the Southerly tip of the Isle of Portland, 1.2 miles south of the village of Easton. Active since 1906, It replaced the old lower and higher lighthouses in warning coastal traffic clear of the bill, acting as a way mark of the English channel, and safely guiding vessels heading to portland and Weymouth harbors.
Portland Castle
Forts
Portland fort is an artillery fort which was built for King Henry in 1539-41, together with sand foot castle, to guard the natural anchorage known as portland roads. The castle is located in the northern region of the island, on the edge of Castletown, which was named after the castle. It was constructed to protect against European invaders including the French and Spanish, and re-used in the First and Second World Wars. Overlooking Portland Harbour, magnificent views can be captured it's beaut
Portland Museum
Museums
Portland Museum is a museum on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, southern England. This annual exhibition showcases the incredible work produced by K-12 students throughout the state, representing a wide variety of youth perspectives and artistic practices in Maine. The museum has four distinct themes; the history of Portland stone, the Jurassic Coast, shipwrecks around Portland's coast and famous people linked with the island. It also displays examples of the island's archaeology from the Stone
Purbeck Hills
1 Day Treks
Mountain Peaks
The Purbeck Hills are one of the finest landscape features in Dorset. They extend from the much eroded Handfast Point (or The Foreland) in the east for some fifteen miles to the cliffs of Cow Corner and the lonely cove of Arish Mell in the west. These chalk hills are not a continuous ridge, but are broken by the gap at Ulwell and the twin gaps at Corfe Castle.
RSPB Arne
Outdoors- Other
Arne RSPB reserve is a 5.634-square-kilometer nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest maintained by the RSPB and located in Dorset. Arne is celebrated for its lowland heathland (which is rare in Europe) and its wildlife including Dartford warblers, nightjars, all six species of British reptile, plus many species of butterflies, dragonflies, and moths. It is also home to nearly 500 types of a flowering plants.
RSPB Radipole Lake
Lake/ River/ Ponds
RSPB Radipole Lake is an 83-hectare nature reserve owned by Weymouth and Portland Council and managed by the RSPB for wildlife since 1976. It is a quiet ‘wildlife oasis' in the heart of Weymouth and a great place to get close up with nature. Look for otter prints, go pond dipping and visit the bird hides.
Russell Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
Iconic Buildings
Art Galleries
One of the most fascinating historic houses in England. The Russell-Cotes was the home of two Victorian collectors and travel enthusiasts, Sir Merton and Lady Annie Russell-Cotes. Twice-yearly exhibitions of contemporary art support works from the main collection, and have included painter Jonathan Yeo and sculptor Jon Edgar in 2011. it is located on the top of the East Cliff, next to the Royal Bath Hotel.
Sandbanks Beach
Beaches
Outdoors- Other
Sandbanks is a small peninsula crossing the mouth of Poole Harbour. It is of the highest quality with fine golden sand and sparkling clean waters, perfect for a family day out at the seaside. One of the iconic location for a day out with family and also you can spend some nice time there.
Sandsfoot Castle
Iconic Buildings
Sandsfoot Castle, built by Henry VIII in 1539 to protect his kingdom from foreign invasion. It was designed specifically as part of the king's network of coastal defenses to protect against both French and Spanish attacks, based on the possibility of attacks by Roman Catholic enemies due to the change in the established religion in England.
SEA LIFE Centre Weymouth
Parks
Man-made Structures- Other
Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park offers you an amazing underwater world and takes a fascinating journey to the ocean depths. Meet the world’s smallest penguins in their new interactive Fairy Penguin Island walk-through adventure. It aims to combine modern display technology, biological expertise, and entertainment to provide themed journeys through European and tropical waters.
Sherborne Abbey
Churches
Sherborne Abbey is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), and since 1539, a parish church. It is one of the county's finest medieval buildings. The first church here was established in the 8th century as part of a Saxon abbey. Of that Saxon building little remains beyond a doorway. It was one of the main religious buildings and also a tourist attraction too.
Sherborne Old Castle
Iconic Buildings
Sherborne Old Castle is a romantic 12th-century ruin set in beautiful grounds next to New Sherborne Castle. it has a long and chequered history and became a powerful Royalist base during the Civil War. The castle grounds are a haven for wildlife and birds and it is an ideal spot for a picnic.
Southbourne Beach
Beaches
Southbourne Beach is one of Bournemouth's favourite Blue Flag award winning beaches, particularly loved by the locals for its wide, exceptionally clean, sandy shore. The beach is popular with young families due to convenient facilities such as toilets with baby changing facilities, lost children centres, RNLI lifeguard stations, pubs and ice cream kiosks.
Splashdown
Theme Parks
Splashdown Waterpark is a great day out for family and friends. There’s something for everyone – from big kids to little ones – with some of the UK’s most exciting water flumes. It has 8 indoor water slides which operate all year round and 5 outside rides which operate only during the summer season. There is also a wet play area and a small training pool for youngsters.
Swanage Bay
Outdoors- Other
Swanage is the most easterly town on the Jurassic Coast, and its gently shelving sandy beach and sheltered waters have made it a popular destination for families since Victorian times. Despite being just six miles from the urban expanse of Poole and Bournemouth, Swanage feels a world away, and retains a sense of bustling but easy-going seaside charm. The beach also holds the prestigious blue flag for beach cleanliness.
Swanage Pier Trust
Man-made Structures- Other
Swanage Pier is one of only a few timber piers in the UK. It is under constant threat from a challenging marine environment and from the gribble worm, the microscopic bug that can reduce the vertical piles to a fraction of their width over time. Until the 1950s, it was a diving platform for Swanage Swimming Club. It is now derelict. A few piles are visible to the east of the ‘new’ pier.
Swanage Railway
Man-made Structures- Other
The Swanage Railway offers a more intensive heritage steam and diesel timetable train service than virtually any other preserved railway. It is is one of Britain’s most popular heritage railways, with steam trains running every day between April and October.
The Blue Pool
Lake/ River/ Ponds
Outdoors- Other
Blue Pool is a flooded, disused clay pit where Purbeck ball clay was once extracted. It is now a lake within the Furzebrook Estate. The Pool is surrounded by 25 acres of heath, woodland and gorse interlaced with sandy paths that seem to take you to another world. The Green Route includes steps up to views of the Purbeck Hills or down to the edge of the Pool.
Map of attractions in Dorset
Comments
For more information about Dorset, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset